Times of Trenton Letters to the Editor - June 23

I was especially moved this week by the determination of our public employees in fighting the pension and benefits legislation making its way through the legislative process with lightning speed.

Supporters of the proposals have called it a “watershed moment” and “history in the making.” It certainly is a watershed moment for those who provide important services our citizens depend on each day — those who teach our children, protect our neighborhoods, fight fires, fix our roads, patrol our jails, care for our senior citizens and persons with disabilities and advocate for the most vulnerable in our society. These and many others would no longer have a seat at the table to ensure a fair and open process.

These issues would be decided for them. Collective bargaining is not just threatened, it is being stripped from those who need it most. This “watershed moment” also includes a revolting provision that would restrict public employees from getting out-of-state treatment. This means that a breast cancer patient receiving care in New York or Pennsylvania or a mom bringing a special-needs child to the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia may face an inability to get care or exorbitant out-of-pocket costs.

While many are scrambling to change or water down this provision, I believe it should be removed entirely.

When it comes to this “watershed moment,” I am proud to stand up for the rights of all our hard-working middle-class families by opposing this effort and will urge my colleagues in the Assembly to join me in voting against it.

-- Daniel R. Benson,
Hamilton
The writer represents the 14th District in the New Jersey Assembly.

Unloading costs onto workers is no reform at all

Gov. Chris Christie’s adversarial temperament has succeeded in turning neighbor against neighbor because of the perception that one neighbor may be receiving health benefits as a negotiated package, as opposed to a condition of employment.

Unfortunately, the real problem is that health benefits were never supposed to be the primary benefit of employment. I oppose the Christie-Sweeney benefit reform, because it is not reform.

Reform fixes something. This legislation simply transfers more costs onto New Jersey’s public-sector employees, while the real problem of providing health care at reasonable cost for all New Jerseyans will continue to elude us and leave more people behind, as health-care costs continue to escalate.

The other disturbing issue: A true cross section of New Jersey is represented by the union rallies in Trenton. All genders and skin colors are represented by the thousands who rallied in front of the State House. Before Gov. Christie took office, a few hundred people on the steps of the State House would be called a big demonstration. Now, thousands of people of all creeds demonstrate on State Street, and they are ignored because they are members of labor.

If the bill is not reform and a large constituency is being ignored, I can only conclude that the bills are biased and our lawmakers are legislating against collective bargaining.

--Brendan O’Donnell,
North Hanover
The writer is president of International Association of Firefighters L3786, Robbinsville Professional Firefighters.

’Buy local’: Bill supports New Jersey hospitals

The New Jersey Assembly is in the final stages of legislation that would reform pension and health benefits for public workers. One particular provision, to encourage those employees to choose in-state medical providers, has received a lot of attention and is generally misunderstood.

I believe the incentives contemplated by the legislation make good sense and are good public policy. While I believe in freedom of choice when it comes to one’s medical care, the reality is that the fiscal health and well-being of New Jersey’s hospitals, and the nearly 150,000 employees who staff them, are at stake.

No public employee will be forced into a health plan that restricts access to care. Workers will be given the option of choosing a lower-priced plan that will require them to use New Jersey facilities for treatment unless it is deemed unavailable in-state.

Every day, we are bombarded with messages as to the superiority of our health-care neighbors to the north and west. Yet, the fact is that New Jersey hospitals are nationally recognized for excellent, high-quality care.

Case in point: Just recently, Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center was cited by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best hospitals in the Philadelphia metropolitan region.

As the Garden State, we are proud of the “Jersey Fresh” mantle. We need to recognize our equally valuable health-care “product” and patronize our own institutions in much the same way. The legislation does not restrict access; it protects and rewards choices that benefit our own state over others.

Given our dire financial straits in the state, this is not a sacrifice at all. It is an opportunity to “buy local.”

-- Alexander J. Hatala,
Camden
The writer is president and CEO of the Lourdes Health System.

State lawmakers have abandoned public workers

As educators, we believe that everything is a lesson and often the best way to explain a current situation is to look to the past. Whether we’re examining the civil rights protests of the ‘60s or the Revolutionary heritage that we teach every third-grader (for which our state served as the crossroads), the objectives of the past remain similar to the challenges of today. The lesson is to stand up for what is right.

We public workers have been happy to do our share. We chose service professions, because we chose to make a difference. We knew from the beginning that, for most of us on the front line, there would be no golden parachute. However, we did expect that the promises for our retirement, after years of dedicated service, would be kept to ensure our dignity, well-being and modest comfort.

It seemed reasonable. But now the rules are being changed right before our eyes. Instead of acknowledgement that our years of dedication have moved our state and our children into prominence, we are blamed and bullied.

The positive catch-phrases of education have always included “the best” and “excellence.” In the classroom and in the world, we’ve strived to encourage that.
Now we are being told that, for our health care, there will be no striving, only settling for what’s available.

We have learned from history that the best way to accomplish anything is to use our vote, and we will.

-- Liz Pasko,
Pennington

Pension, health bill puts workers’ future in jeopardy

While most details of the draconian “pension reform” legislation are debated, the impact of eliminating the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for public pensions has escaped public scrutiny. Since it’s misleadingly called a “freeze,” few public workers and retirees realize it will cause the value of pensions to decline 30 percent in 10 years. It requires the pension fund to reach a certain defined “healthy level” of 80 percent funding before COLA can be reinstated. Experts agree this will take approximately 30 years.

Realistically, for any retiree who lives a normal life expectancy, there will never be an increase in his or her pension.

The financial well-being of hundreds of thousands of public workers and retirees will be determined this week with the Senate and Assembly poised to vote to cut pension and health-care benefits. I urge New Jersey residents to join the Second Great Battle of Trenton rally today. Let the world know we won’t allow Wisconsin to come to New Jersey (go to njea.org for event information). Finally, I urge lawmakers and residents to support legislation reinstating the millionaires’ tax and for a constitutional amendment ballot initiative to make it permanent.

-- Carol Lerner, MSW,
Lawrence
The writer is a New Jersey public school social worker.